Doxil - my first round

JulieL

Posts: 141
Joined: Jan 2012

Oct 19, 2012 - 6:29 am

Well I have now completed my first round of Doxil (Caelyx in Australia) and had my second treatment today.

Having had 3 x CA125 tests increase 21 to 209 to 360 to 459 (the last being 6 days after my first infusion!!!) - 5th to 24th September - I was delighted that my result this week, at the end of the 4 weeks from infusion, was 382 so a small but fabulous drop!

I must say I have had very little in the way of side effects - a tiny bit of nausea but great drugs kept that at bay. The worst was the peripheral neuropathy in my feet. My feet feel as if I have been walking on hot coals! However if that is the price of falling CA125 results I am prepared to put up with that! I am having reflexology and foot massage and have been recommended to use cocoa butter and deep heat creams and have just started them so will report if I find it helps or not.

I was due to have my treatment on Wednesday but my white blood cell count was too low so I was given an injection of newpogen and that increased my levels sufficiently to have Doxil today.

Having felt somewhat depressed 3 weeks ago about the success of this chemo I am now back to being very positive and upbeat about it! Consequently I am a much happier girl!!! Our first grandbaby is due in 3 weeks so much to look forward to and enjoy and thankfully wonderfully supportive family and friends help me to get through this.

Mom has her next Doxil treatment next Friday. I am still leery about this stuff. Why put someone through any side effects if it won't work. Your numbers dropped which give me hope. I am very happy for you. Hoping it keeps going down. Woo-hoo!

Hi Julie: I'm glad the doxil is helping! There is much information on neuropathy on the colon club website. My chemo treatment was similar to that used in fighting colon cancer (oxaliplatin + irenotecan + 5FU) and neuropathy is a big side effect. Luckily mine is only a little uncomfortable sometimes. I'm now on radiation but haven't had an assessment yet. It is high dose over 2 weeks. No side effects so far. Keep up your spirits as this too shall pass.
Cheryl

So sorry to hear the numbers are going up. I try to tell myself to concentrate on how I feel rather than the numbers but we are so reliant on that number to give us a guide! I do hope the next treatment will do the job for your Mom. Two weeks and I will find out what my second treatment has done. My hands and feet are giving me some problems at the moment - red, swollen and sore especially between the fingers and I am hobbling around on my poor feet! No long walks for me at the moment. Also a bit of a rash this morning on my chest!

I am aware of several patients that have had good success with Doxil. The response time is 4 months so the Dr warned me that my numbers would probably go up before they came down. Actually my numbers dropped right away till about my 5th month when the drug quit working.I too had the sore peeling feet. I kind of wish I had never tried it but I had heard how some people did so well I agreed to give it a try. Now I am back on Carbo.
Wishing you all the best!

I am aware of several patients that have had good success with Doxil. The response time is 4 months so the Dr warned me that my numbers would probably go up before they came down. Actually my numbers dropped right away till about my 5th month when the drug quit working.I too had the sore peeling feet. I kind of wish I had never tried it but I had heard how some people did so well I agreed to give it a try. Now I am back on Carbo.
Wishing you all the best!

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